Now What
by kt2785
Summary: What happens next? Following 4.23. Spoilers. This is my first Castle fic. Be kind. :
1. Chapter 1

**I know there will probably be a lot of stories after last night's finale, but I couldn't help myself.**

He was smiling in his sleep. He rolled over with his eyes still closed. The bed was empty. He opened his eyes and moved his hand where he thought Beckett would be sleeping. Not Beckett anymore. She was Kate. His Kate. Or so he thought. Was it all a dream? It felt so real. Maybe she left. Maybe she was too embarrassed to face him the morning after. Maybe it was all a lie. She said she wanted him. Did he imagine that too? He sat up and sighed. He opened the bedroom door and could smell bacon cooking. Surely Martha wasn't making him breakfast. She would have it delivered.

"Morning," her voice was sweet. She turned around. Her hair looked perfect. She was wearing one of his shirts.

"Hey…uh, good morning," he corrected himself.

She walked toward him carrying two Starbuck's coffees.

"I thought I owed it to you," she said, handing him one of the cups. She pressed her lips together, smirking slightly.

"I thought you were-," he started. He looked down at the cup of coffee and ran his fingers on the rim. "I thought it was a dream."

"It is a dream Castle," she replied. She kissed his lips softly, then backed away to continue cooking breakfast. He walked toward her and brushed her hair away from her face.

"How is it that your hair looks perfect after the night we had?" he asked quietly. She didn't answer, but she smirked.

* * *

Earlier that day, when she almost fell from the roof, there was no question that Castle would swoop in and save the day. It almost broke her heart when he didn't. But then she realized, it wasn't her heart that was breaking, it was Castle's. She had known for a year how he felt about her, but he didn't know how she felt about him. She had to tell him, she had to call him and invite herself over. He didn't answer her call. He was still mad at her. But he loved her. She was standing outside his door when she made the call. She turned around and went toward the stairs. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. She turned back, but hesitated. She took a deep breath and counted to five before she knocked. He opened the door. He wasn't even happy to see her. This wasn't the Richard Castle she knew. He should be asking her if she's ok, or how things went. Instead he wanted to know why she was there. She couldn't wait another second before pushing her way back into his life. She kissed him, but he was pulling away. She knew she wouldn't get away with kissing him that easily. He would want answers.

After explaining everything, she leaned forward to kiss him again. When he finally kissed her back, she felt like she could breathe. 4 years. She'd always wanted to let herself feel something for him, everything, but something always held her back. At first she blamed it on her mom's case, and then it was her own shooting. But she couldn't keep it in any longer. When he was telling her how he felt about her, all she wanted to do was cry into his arms and tell him the same, but she couldn't let it go. Her mom's case was her life's work. She could count on Castle. She took his hand. He squeezed it and let her lead them through the apartment. When they got to his room, she was smiling and chuckling softly. She couldn't keep her hands off of him or her lips. He was shaking slightly. Was he nervous? She took both his hands and intertwined their fingers. She couldn't stop smiling, but why wasn't he? He pushed her gently toward the bed. She sat down and started unbuttoning her shirt the rest of the way. He grabbed her hand to stop her. He knelt down on the bed next to her and kissed her neck. His breath was in her ear. He pulled her down with him on the bed. She turned her head to kiss his lips.

"I love you," she whispered softly into his mouth. He smiled. Finally he smiled back at her. She smiled too and touched his lips with her fingers. Everything was slow and lovely. She didn't want it to end. The way he looked at her, she didn't need him to say it back.

* * *

She opened cupboards to find the dishes. As she served the pancakes and bacon, Castle went to get the syrup and silverware. They sat down at the same time. They both reached for the syrup at the same time. Beckett's fingers brushed against Castle's. She chuckled softly. He let her have the syrup first.

"I didn't know you could cook," he said. She ran her feet against his legs.

"I didn't know you snored," Beckett told Castle.

"I do not," he scoffed defensively.

"Well you did last night," she answered. He smiled weakly.

"I don't snore," he said.

"It was cute," she stated. "Last night-"

"Wait, I don't...I don't know if you should finish your sentence. I don't want all this to end," he whisered.

"I was going to say, last night was amazing," she said. "You're amazing Rick."

"You're not so bad yourself Kate," he replied. She wrapped one arm around him and pulled him closer. She kissed him softly. They heard a soft 'ahem' behind them. "Don't look," he whispered

Beckett turned her head and saw Martha standing in the doorway with Alexis in tow.

"We'll just go out for breakfast," Martha said pushing Alexis backwards and closing the door behind them. Castle caught Alexis's eye, and she was smiling widely. From behind the door Alexis was squealing.

"So now what?" Castle asked. Beckett smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**I decided to do a little sequel chapter. **

She heard the gunshot and sat up quickly. Her heart was beating fast. She took a deep breath and put her hands to her face. He was snoring softly. Closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, she laid back down. She really hoped that the dreams would have stopped by now. It had been a year, and she still had nightmares about that day. It was part of the reason she pretended not to remember anything. She didn't want to remember that day, even Castle telling her he loved her. She knew it was selfish, but she was here now. They were in bed together. She watched him sleep. He looked content. Her heart was still racing, but this time it was because she remembered the night before, not because of her dream. Continuing to watch him, she smiled. She was smiling at his snoring, but she was also smiling at all the possibilities that last night opened up. Her stomach was growling. She hadn't eaten anything since before she almost fell to her death. She hadn't had much of an appetite, until now. She got out of the bed and walked across the bedroom. There were clothes were strewn all over the floor. Letting out a soft laugh, she picked up her clothes and brought them into the bathroom. Her hair was a mess. She groaned softly and opened several drawers until she found a brush. It must have been one of Alexis's. She brushed her hair and made sure it looked presentable. She could sneak out of his apartment and be back before he woke.

She couldn't stop thinking about the night before. After she said I love you, he just looked at her. He was breathing deeply. He ran his hand through her hair. Her hair was tangled. He kissed her forehead.

"Were you out in the rain?" he asked softly, still playing with her hair. She chuckled and pulled him into another kiss. She ran her hands down his shoulders. She helped him unbutton his shirt. He looked down at her. They were both breathing deeply, trying to get a deep enough breath to continue kissing. She kissed his neck and shoulder.

"Kate," he whispered. She liked it when he called her Kate. It made her more real. Beckett was her work name. Beckett was too formal. He ran his hand down her face and down her chest. He was looking at her almost as if she wasn't real.

"It's ok," she said, reaching up and touching his cheek. "I'm here Rick."

His smile made her smile. He didn't move for a minute. He just looked down at her. His smile faded, but he wasn't upset. It was just a look of complete contentment. She didn't want the look to stop, but she wanted to continue to kiss him. She kissed him softly and pulled him closer. They didn't stop, but they were slow and careful.

They didn't move away from each other. It was true what she said earlier. It wasn't just a heat of the moment thing. She wanted him. She had wanted him for a year...hell that was a lie, she wanted him since he first walked into the precinct with his stupid cocky grin. Her head was resting on his chest. His heart was still beating hard. His arm was around her tightly, but not too tight. He was running his hand across her arm and shoulder. Neither of them spoke. What was left to say? Well there was plenty to say, but she didn't want to ruin the silence. She lifted her head to look at him.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," he smirked.

"You ok?" she asked. "Your heart is still pounding."

"I'm good," he answered. "I'm glad you came over."

She kissed his lips softly. He pulled her back down into his arms. She moved up, so their heads were next to each other.

"I love you," he whispered softly. So softly it was barely audible, but she heard it. She squeezed his hand and snuggled against him.

* * *

She started leaving the bedroom, but first she went back toward the bed. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. He didn't wake up. This was one of her first discoveries about sleeping with him...he was a deep sleeper. She could probably make as much noise as she wanted and he still wouldn't wake up.

For the first time in a long time she wanted to make breakfast. Maybe if Castle was still in bed, she would just bring it to him. She opened the refrigerator. There was nothing in it except Chinese leftovers and butter. She chuckled and shook her head. Of course he had nothing. He hadn't had much time to cook lately. She looked around the apartment and wondered if Martha and Alexis were home. She hoped not, she didn't want to have to explain being there. She didn't know what she would say, especially to Alexis. It would be something that she and Rick would have to talk about. She left the aparment to pick up some groceries. Instead of taking the stairs, she chose the elevator. It was a long way down. She couldn't stop smiling.

She didn't know this side of town very well. She looked across the street and noticed that there was a small market. The pavement was still wet from the storm the night before, but the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. She went to the store and shopped quickly. She wanted to get back to the apartment.

She was getting ready to cross the street again to go back to the apartment. There was a group of high school boys jumping in the puddles in the street to get the girls standing on the sidewalk wet. The girls were screaming. One of them said "Grow up!" On any other normal day, Kate would think the same thing, but not today. Today was about new beginnings. It was about being happy and not having a care in the world. She watched the teenagers for a couple more seconds. She wanted coffee to wake up a little bit more. She knew there had to be a coffee shop close, there was one on every street corner in New York. Sure enough, there was one on the other side of the street, right next to the apartment. As she made it to the other side of the street a taxi went through a large puddle in the street. It sprayed the water up and drenched her. She scoffed slightly, but laughed it off.

She opened the door to the coffee shop, still soaking wet. She didn't know any of these people, but she was sure Rick did. Rick would probably flirt with the girl at the counter. Smile at her, and maybe give her a wink as he left. It would make her smile, but his smiles and winks were now for her.

"Two lattes," Kate said softly. "And uh, do you have a napkin or something.

"Honey, it looks like you could use a towel" the girl at the counter said. She handed her a white towel from behind the counter. Kate hated being called 'honey', especially since this girl was young enough to be her daughter.

"Thanks," Kate smiled. She tried to try herself as much as possible.

"Hey wait, you're…you're Rick's friend. Detective Beckett," the girl stated.

"Uh, yeah, how did you know?" Kate asked.

"He talks about you all the time," she answered. "He showed me a picture of you on his phone. He's such a sweetheart. Are you picking up the coffee today for the two of you?"

"Yeah," she said. "Kind of."

"I would kill to have a guy like him talk about me the way he talks about you," the girl said. "Hey Gwen, two Rick specials!"

Kate walked back to the apartment somewhat stunned. She wasn't sure how to feel about the girl knowing who she was. Not only that, but she wondered what Rick said about her. She thought to yesterday, when he confessed all his feelings. No one had ever said anything like that to her. When she went back into the apartment, she set the grocery bag down and the cups of coffee. Her clothes were still wet, so she went to get out of them. Rick had moved into the middle of the bed, but he was still sleeping and still snoring softly. She wanted to wake him up, but couldn't bear to. He was smiling. He must be having pleasant dreams.

She pulled her wet clothes off and hung them over the shower rod. She went over to Rick's closet to find something to wear. He would love it if he came into the kitchen and she was making breakfast naked, but she didn't think that would be sanitary. She picked a white button down shirt and rolled the sleeves up so she wouldn't get them messy.

His kitchen was easy to navigate. She laughed at herself. Since she never made breakfast, she hoped her pancakes would turn out edible. She burned the first batch of pancakes, but the second batch was perfect. Breakfast was almost ready, when she heard movement in the bedroom.

He almost looked surprised when he saw her in the kitchen. She smiled at him and walked toward him with the coffee. She was sure that it wasn't hot anymore, but Rick drank it anyway. He was being so coy and almost shy. Did he still doubt what happened last night?

Their conversation was so nonchalant. Until he brought up that he didn't want all this to end. Neither did she. It didn't have to end. She had no idea what their relationship was now. Was he her boyfriend? It would sound like she was in high school if she said it out loud. But he was more than a boyfriend. He was more than a partner. As cliché as it sounded, he was her better half.

"So, now what?" he asked when the door closed. He didn't mean, 'now what', as in the next few minutes. He meant, now what, are we together? What is this? What happened last night? She smiled at him, and leaned forward. Their lips were almost touching.

"Now we eat," she answered. "I'm starving."

The End


End file.
